December the 18th, 2020 - the Croatian Bio-Mi company has succeeded in standing out among the rest owing to the fact that it is among only a few in Europe, and is the only one in this part of Europe to produce one material.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the Croatian Bio-Mi is the only company here in Southeast Europe, and one of only a few in Europe at all, which produces biodegradable and compostable thermoplastic raw materials that are used for further processing into finished products.
As Filip Miketa, co-owner and director of the Croatian Bio-Mi explained, after four years of hard work in terms of research, which is supported by 2.75 million euros from eight and soon nine EU projects, the company is now positioning itself out on the market.
Although the Croatian Bio-Mi is a relatively new company, having only been around for three years and enjoying modest revenue of around 2.5 million kuna last year with nine employees, it's dealing with a much larger and longer project. Namely, Filip Miketa worked for years within his family company Mi-Plast, which has existed for about 40 years and which deals with the recycling and processing of various plastics.
Miketa was also in charge of research and development at Mi-Plast, and in the previous period he withdrew significant EU funds, around 2.5 million euros, for various Mi-Plast projects. “In the last six months, we've invested in higher production capacities and raising production and productivity of both obtained and produced formulations, which is a very expensive process.
It should be mentioned that bio-polymers themselves are non-processable, but that's why we and companies like us mix and assemble them into functional items and process raw materials consisting of several components. At the moment, we have a couple of competitors in Europe, and these are more or less large and serious companies because in this segment, smaller companies like us are a rarity,'' pointed out Miketa.
He added that, in addition to materials, the Croatian Bio-Mi has invested and still plans to further invest in processing these materials into final products such as food packaging, bags for the separate collection of biodegradable waste, mulch foil for agriculture that decomposes on the ground for which there is no need for collection and disposal, etc.
"Basically, these are products that make sense and that the European Commission counts on in all of its plans and strategies because they're raw materials and products that are bio-based and are designed to help society with the disposal of organic waste by encouraging the circular bioeconomy.
These materials and products, in addition to composting and/or biodegradation under different conditions, can also be mechanically recycled, just like traditional plastics such as PE, PP and PET. Therefore, each of these materials and products boast several possibilities for an efficient and sustainable end of life, but of course, composting with other degradable waste is preferred,'' explained Miketa, adding that, for example, bags for the separate collection of organic waste are composted together with waste, and EU countries have increased their share of organic waste recovery.
Thus, he says, northern Italy has reached a recovery of as much as 80 percent where compostable plastics have played a key role. He is aware that this is not the case here in Croatia for now, but he is convinced that, due to EU regulations and the general overall development of public awareness, recovered organic waste will represent about 40 percent of waste accumulated here in Croatia.
Therefore, he pointed out, biocomposite materials and such products should be viewed from that angle because they're there to help where conventional plastics has failed, but the most important thing is to check the characteristics on the product.
''Namely, in the last few years, we've witnessed false propaganda and only two certification companies in the EU are responsible for issuing certificates through authorised certification laboratories. Basically, the Croatian Bio-Mi got its first TUV certifications according to EN13432 that our materials and products are compostable, which in the case of material certification, is a pretty big deal,'' he explained.
In addition to the certification of the first formulation of MI3 blend, this innovative company is preparing for certification of other blends that are not only compostable in industrial and domestic compost, but are degradable on soil and in seawater.
It isn't only important whether the product decomposes or composts, it's important what is left there after the fact, so it's best to see the results of product analysis "from cradle to grave" where bioplastics and compostable plastics have an advantage over fossil traditional plastics or the far worse oxodegradable plastics.
The Croatian Bio-Mi director believes that compostable and biodegradable plastics can offer better and more sustainable solutions here in Croatia, and many EU countries are switching or have switched over to this type of material and products based on many years of work, research and development, but also owing to scientific facts and analyses.
EU regulations are becoming stricter towards the use of classic plastic, and a new proposal for the Croatian Waste Management Act, for which the public debate has now ended, is on the same track. However, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce warns that its implementation in this form would lead to problems for about 30 small and medium-sized companies with about 800 employees engaged in the production of disposable plastic products, mainly PVC bags.
The Croatian Chamber of Commerce proposes that the law introduce an intermediate model for disposable plastics that contains recyclables and that would be allowed as such. The Croatian Chamber of Commerce is also aware that there is no technology that would determine whether there is recycled plastic in a particular plastic and in what percentage, so they'd solve this problem with chamber certificates that would "guarantee the principle of material traceability".
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